The evolution of early childhood education policy in Hong Kong

Jessie M.S. Wong; Nirmala Rao

doi:10.1007/s40723-015-0006-y

The evolution of early childhood education policy in Hong Kong

Jessie M.S. Wong, Nirmala Rao

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

49 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Almost all 3- to 6-year-olds attend preschool programmes in Hong Kong; however, early childhood education (ECE) had been relatively neglected by the Hong Kong government until 2000 when the reform of school education system was initiated. Since then, notions of ‘child-centredness’ and holistic development have been promulgated as the core values of ECE. Against this backdrop, this paper critically examines the Hong Kong ECE context, its historical development, the major obstacles to reform from both parents’ and providers’ perspectives, and the recent key policy developments in ECE. It provides a useful reference for international audiences, particularly those in Confucian-heritage cultures, in designing and implementing educational reform and change in ECE.

Original language	English
Article number	3
Journal	International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
Volume	9
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40723-015-0006-y
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2015
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Early childhood education policy
Educational reform
Hong Kong
Pre-primary education

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s40723-015-0006-y

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title = "The evolution of early childhood education policy in Hong Kong",

abstract = "Almost all 3- to 6-year-olds attend preschool programmes in Hong Kong; however, early childhood education (ECE) had been relatively neglected by the Hong Kong government until 2000 when the reform of school education system was initiated. Since then, notions of {\textquoteleft}child-centredness{\textquoteright} and holistic development have been promulgated as the core values of ECE. Against this backdrop, this paper critically examines the Hong Kong ECE context, its historical development, the major obstacles to reform from both parents{\textquoteright} and providers{\textquoteright} perspectives, and the recent key policy developments in ECE. It provides a useful reference for international audiences, particularly those in Confucian-heritage cultures, in designing and implementing educational reform and change in ECE.",

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AB - Almost all 3- to 6-year-olds attend preschool programmes in Hong Kong; however, early childhood education (ECE) had been relatively neglected by the Hong Kong government until 2000 when the reform of school education system was initiated. Since then, notions of ‘child-centredness’ and holistic development have been promulgated as the core values of ECE. Against this backdrop, this paper critically examines the Hong Kong ECE context, its historical development, the major obstacles to reform from both parents’ and providers’ perspectives, and the recent key policy developments in ECE. It provides a useful reference for international audiences, particularly those in Confucian-heritage cultures, in designing and implementing educational reform and change in ECE.

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The evolution of early childhood education policy in Hong Kong

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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